


reality girl and fantasy boy get hitched | a prelude

by PaperRevolution



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-02 23:10:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16796554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaperRevolution/pseuds/PaperRevolution
Summary: Orpheus asks Eurydice to marry him, but he has some avoidance issues to work through first...





	reality girl and fantasy boy get hitched | a prelude

“I have an idea,” he says, looking at her bright-eyed with focused intensity.

Eurydice props herself up on an elbow, the sheets rustling beneath her. “Oh, no,” she deadpans.

She expects him to swat at her playfully, but the expression on his face is one hundred percent serious.

“What?” She asks.

Orpheus pulls in a slow breath like he’s steeling himself. “Let’s get married,” he blurts.

Eurydice laughs so hard she falls flat on her back on the thin mattress. “I’m—I’m sorry, what?”

The bed creaks wearily as Orpheus sits up. Eurydice sits too, turning again to face him.

Now he looks a little afraid.

“I don’t know you.” It comes out cagey and accusatory and she hates herself a little bit for the way it makes him wince. “And what’s the point when one or both of us will probably be in the ground by this time next year, times being what they are?”

His short, sharp inhale makes her think of someone wounded.

Don’t, she expects him to say.

What he says instead is: “Exactly.”

She restrains herself from pulling him close; from telling him it will all be okay. She can’t lie to him, and anyway, avoidant little dipshit though he might be, he’s sure as hell not stupid.

“If we do this,” she says, “You can’t bury your head in the sand. You can’t pretend things are okay when they’re not.”

The brief butterfly-flight of his hopeful smile makes her ache. “I know,” he says. “I won’t.”

“I’m serious. If you check out on me—”

He takes both her hands in his. His expression is so earnest that for a moment she could almost forget that he’s a guy who doesn’t know how to deal with reality.

“I won’t, okay?” His voice cracks. She can feel how desperately he wants to believe his own lie and the tight knot in her throat bursts from bud to bloom, threatening to suffocate her. She chokes it down, shutting her eyes tightly for a moment and then opening them again.

“I promise,” he says.

And suddenly she thinks: Why the fuck not? Why shouldn’t I get my shot at happiness? Why shouldn’t we have time together?

“Okay,” she says, and thinks fiercely to herself: I can be strong enough for both of us. “Okay.”

When she leans in to kiss him, the voice in her head says:

Who’s in denial now?


End file.
